US, Fiji move to strengthen military ties

The US Defense Secretary announced a bilateral agreement under negotiation to allow US forces to support Fiji. The power struggle between Washington and Beijing in the region makes the island nation an important ally.

The United States and Fiji had talks to strengthen military ties, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during his visit to the Pacific nation on Saturday.

The two nations are negotiating a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that will enable the US "to deploy and re-deploy forces in support of Fiji," according to Austin.

The US defense secretary added that it will help "US train with the Fijians on a more routine basis."

The US also pledged $4.9 million (€4.7 million) for Fiji's military modernization and signed a logistics cooperation deal, the US Department of Defense said.

The trip marked the first-ever visit to Fiji by a US defense secretary, and the last stop in Austin's tour of the Asia-Pacific region that included stops in Australia, the Philippines, and Laos.

Caught between Washington and Beijing

Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka called Austin's visit a "historic moment in the US and Fiji relationship."

The former military commander said his country looked forward "to continuing to work closely with the United States going forward, including with the new incoming Trump administration".

"We are all here to talk about peace, and how we guard and protect and promote that peace," he said.

The power struggle between Washington and Beijing in the South Pacific region makes Fiji an important ally.

The mostly pro-Western Rabuka has recently made trips to Beijing, where he signed bilateral deals on trade, infrastructure and Chinese-language education.

ss/zc (Reuters, AFP)